A Trip Back in Time

I'm back at the keyboard and it feels good (like I knew that it would,,,now (you can sing along if you like.) I'm working on the fifth in the Anna Sweet novellas for Grass Roots Press, an adult literacy press out of Edmonton. It's taken me a while to come up with the crime that the mystery centres around and I'm still working out details, but chapter one is well under way.

I've been invited to participate on a book show on Cable 22 with filming the weekend of November 28. I've done a lot more radio than tv so this will be a good experience. I'll let you know how it goes!

Back to our travels in Europe in September. After four nights in Montpellier, France, we took the train back to Barcelona where we caught a plane to Granada in south central Spain, which is a small city in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, an hour from the Mediterranian. We'd had a few days of cool, stormer weather in France but were right back into the sun and heat.

After a half hour bus ride from the airport, we arrived in the business district at the entryway to the Albaycin district, the oldest part of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also the Moorish quarter with bazaars, markets, restaurants and bars. We read that our VRBO was a five minute walk down to the Plaza Neuva - cars cannot travel through the narrow, cobblestone streets - but the walk up to our apartment dragging suitcases took more like twenty minutes. The route was a series of steps, making the dragging of suitcases even more difficult.

Ted and Paul had gone ahead to make sure we were on the right path.

A hookah lounge down the hill from our apartment.

The cobblestones are pebbles and take a bit of getting used to walking on. 

Around the corner from our apartment...

And down the hill.  We found this resto owned by an Algerian and ate there both night of our stay. We sat in this little central courtyard with the ceiling open to the night sky. I still have fond memories of the chicken with plums and almonds. 

Again, not far from where we were staying. The Monastary of Santa Isabel de Real, dating back to 1504, a women's religious convent still operating today.

Fabulous views from Albaycin lookout.

We spent the next day touring the Alhambra on a guided tour. The Alhambra is a fort and series of Medieval palaces, still fed by the original aqueduct system. There are also spectacular gardens to walk through. We walked up a steep hill a short distance from our apartment and slept well after our climb through Alhambra.  

The ancient ruins, dating back to 889. The castle was built in the 11th century and the Moors arrived in the 13th century, adding palaces for the sultans and families.

Kathy:-)

Inside the palace.

The ornate ceiling inside one of the palaces.

A view of the Sierra Nevada in the distance.

The original fortress. 

And next week, we travel to the beautiful city of Seville!

The French Connection

A day late on my blog but I have a real excuse. I came down with a flu-like bug on Friday and spent yesterday sleeping for the most part. But happy to be up and about today and ready for Thanksgiving dinner with friends. Both of our daughters are away curling this weekend and we're following their games online. Hoping for victories as we prepare for the Blue Jays to take game three tonight:-)

I wrote the opening for my fifth in the Anna Sweet series this week and it feels good to be writing after the break. I'll start to pick up speed the latter half of October. This one isn't due until May so lots of time to tinker. 

Back to my travels in September and the second leg of our trip. We caught the morning train from Barcelona to Montpellier in the South of France. The city is on the Mediterranean coast just west of Marseille  and the eighth largest city in France with one third of the population being students. We can attest to this since we were near a student dorm and they like to party until four every morning. We happened to be in Montpellier during frosh week....

We stayed in a great VRBO called le Nid-Oiseau, which usually is a B and B, but this way, we had the apartment to ourselves. It's in an old twelfth or thirteenth century building in the old quarter - tiled floors, ancient marble fireplaces, large casement windows with potted plants on the tiny balconies, and  funky artwork covering the walls. We loved our stay!

Around the corner from our apartment. 

And now, some pics from our wanderings through Montpellier. 

And next week, onto the South of Spain with my three happy travellers. Hola!

We had to leave the Oiseau behind...

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

Well, I'm back!

Three weeks travelling through Spain, south of France and Portugal and a break from my keyboard and all responsibility - I highly recommend you take time to do the same, if you haven't recently. I'll share some pictures from my trip over the next four or five blog posts - you can travel the streets of Europe as I did the month of September. 

First things first. I will be signing copies of Cold Mourning and Butterfly Kills today (Saturday, October 3) from 11 am to 2 pm at Coles In the Carlingwood mall, Ottawa. Come by and say hello if you have the chance.  

I visited the Cumberland branch of the Ottawa Public Library on Wednesday evening as guest author for an adult literacy event. Dee Sullivan from People, Words and Change spoke about their fantastic work matching adult learners with tutors, and several authors from the Orleans Writing Group read from their work. I talked about my Anna Sweet series and gave a brief reading. It was a most pleasant evening and I thank the Orleans Writing Group for inviting me. We have a lot of talent in our city!

So, I begin my travels in Barcelona, Spain, where we spent five nights. We stayed in an apartment in L'Eixample section of the city on a busy street in the heart of the action. We walked and took city transport, covering one end of Barcelona to the other.

Travel mates and dear friends (even more so after three weeks on the road together) Paul and Kathleen Schiemann and Ted.

Our first day walking the streets in search of the Gaudi church. We thought this was it for a while until we realized it wasn't. The next two photos are of the actual Gaudi church - still under construction. Line ups were too long to tour inside so we kept walking. 

 

 

We took a bus up the mountain and found an outdoor cafe with gigantic glasses of sangria. Ted and I figure when in Rome....

 The view after a cable car ride to the very top.

A typical narrow street in the old section of the city. Shops, courtyards and outdoor cafes around every corner.  The photo above this one is downtown Barcelona on a busy morning.

 

Below are two photos from our stroll up La Rambla - a wide promenade that we walked to the waterfront and the Mediterranean Sea.

 The beaches, not far from downtown.

Found this door to someone's home at the other end of the city.

 

One of the gardens - Europeans gardens (from those We've toured) are light on flowers and heavy on greenery with sculpted shrubs, trees and hedges.

Time to Put My Feet Up

My latest manuscript is now with Dundurn along with a synopsis and cover text. I've had no feedback as of yet, but am officially taking a break from writing for a month...or two. I'll also be taking a month off my day job with the government and doing some travelling in Europe. Spain, Portugal and the South of France await.

So, I'll be taking a few weeks off from blogging but will resume September 26 - with tales of my travels and a few photos.

I have two writing events lined up after my break:

I'll be speaking at the Cumberland branch of the Ottawa Public Library on Wednesday, September 30 at 7 p.m. about writing the Anna Sweet mysteries.

On Saturday, October 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., I'll be at the Coles in Carlingwood Mall to sign copies of the Stonechild and Rouleau mysteries - a chance to pick up copies for yourself or Christmas presents.

I was also interviewed recently for an article in Ottawa Magazine for the October issue on mysterious settings in Ottawa - just in time for Hallowe'en, and I'm going to be interviewed on Cable 22 around the same time as part of a series on local authors.

I spent part of this week working with my publicist Jim Hatch on organizing places to send advance reading copies (ARCs) of Tumbled Graves and have a bit of work to do this weekend. The book is also avialable on NetGalley for reviewers, journalists and others in the book industry. The official launch is February 2016 - not that far away in the big scheme of things! I'll have to start thinking about a book launch in Ottawa.

So, a few weeks to relax and recharge. I hope you enjoy these last weeks of summer and take some time to rest up and to have some fun. I'll be back in a few weeks to catch up :-)

Theatre and Homemade Peach Pie

I enjoyed my evening at the Perth Classic Theatre Festival alongside author Peggy Blair. A group of us met up for supper ahead of time at O'Reilly's pub with a choice spot on the outdoor patio. Our readings and chat were before the showing of Wait Until Dark.

A woman bought Butterfly Kills and In Winter's Grip, saying that she'd taken Cold Mourning out of the library and really liked it. She recommended Cold Mourning to her friend who then bought a copy - gratifying to have new readers discover my books. After the play, we spent the night and following day at a friend's cottage just outside Perth. We were in the middle of a heat wave so lovely to have a dip in Farren Lake and eat homemade peach pie. A few pics - Matthew Behrens on the far left of the first photo is the Associate Producer.

 Reading on stage

 Peggy Blair talks about her Inspector Ramirez series

Friends Kathryn and Carol

 

Liam's Peach Pie

 

The cottage at Farren Lake

 

Back at the keyboard in my spare hours. I've done a complete edit of my recent manuscript, which is a good thing as my Dundurn editor Jennifer was in touch mid-week requesting a synopsis to be presented at an editorial meeting this coming Thursday. I completed one and worked on the cover text. I found a few gaps in my plotline (I knew I would) and am writing a few more passages. I plan to have the manuscript to Jennifer sometime Sunday. Then, champagne all around!

 

I got a few requests this week - a Cumberland writing group asked me to speak about my adult literacy series at the Cumberland library at the end of September, and a television show on Cable 22 asked me to be interviewed end of October.

 

And finally this week, I've been plotting book five in the Stonechild and Rouleau series although I plan to take a few months' break. I have an Anna Sweet mystery to write before the Stonechild and have been running an idea for that one around in my head too, but I really am going to take a few months away from the keyboard ... well, a few weeks anyway!